my gracie girl

i took gracie down to the beach one day to take her picture. my oh my. it was probably my favorite part of the vacation with her. we had so much fun (& a few tantrums of course). this little girl is the funniest thing i have ever seen.
pretty little girl, hair blowing in the wind.


2 seconds later, she lost her grape cup & ....
when she was mad, she was horrid...


never fearo, momma let her knock me down in the sand & that brought out some laughter...


she's a mess sometimes
(in a good way)
she's definitely a free spirit

she can be quite serious...

but mostly she's just fun. i love you, little two year old!

beach bums

here's some of the crew when we first arrived at the beach. miss gracie was not too sure of what to think at first. ben, in the yellow, jumped right in.
she decided it was pretty cool.


gracie & her goggles. her goggles... she carried these around with her almost everywhere. on her birthday night, she had to sleep with them along with some taffy & a necklace. i woke up to a sticky mess. what did she do? bit it off, of course.

the kiddos getting ready to tackle some waves.

burying miss darbs in the sand.

the next day was spent playing in the big sand hole.
me & my sugar bear.
daddio caught this big fish out in the ocean. we named it ben.

there was a bit of algae that most of us didn't want to brave in the ocean a few days, so we just went to the pool.
beano the duck & his sister.

walking home after a long day of swimming.

i have a few more things from vacation i want to post, but with daddio still being home, i can't get anything done! :)

50 years together & still in love..

we recently got back from a family vacation celebrating my great aunt & uncle's 50th wedding anniversary near panama city beach, florida. i was wondering how 14 people in one house would do (and how i would do being an only child), but the only tantrums thrown were by my now 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old that needed 2 trips to the urgent care center while there. not too bad.
we all had a wonderful time & i loved catching up with everyone.
my great aunt dee (deedee we call her) and uncle paul are 2 very special people. i, along with many other people, do not know what i would do without them. if anyone ever needs help with anything- bam- they are there. & they expect a thing in return. that's just how they are. they are the most loving & giving people i have ever known. they helped raise me & are now helping to raise my 2 kiddos. they are such awesome people & i feel so blessed to have them in my life.
here is paul wearing his top hat from the vacation fairy that would leave special things for the kiddos to do each day in honor of their anniversary.

& deedee in her crown & boa. lovely!


i wish you many more years of happiness together. i love you both!

gracie's 2nd birthday round 1

we celebrated miss gracie's 2nd birthday party this past weekend at namaw & poppy's (& my 31st yikes!) with the folks on daddio's side of the family. we had lots of mexican food to eat (chicken enchiladas, my favorite). everything was delicious, as it always was everytime namaw makes a meal.

she got the cutest hat! i can't wait for her to wear it on the beach next week!


she looks so eggsited, as ben would say! look at that cookie!
make a wish! (she was looking back to make sure her daddy saw the cake)

and blow!!


yummy!!


thank you everyone for making the day so much fun!

fourth of july fun

fourth of july was full of family fun at uncle rocky and aunt jane's! ben & gracie had a blast running around playing with their cousins and friends.

i spent most of the day at the hospital with papaw. he had been in there for an infection where he had surgery. very yucky. a couple of rounds of antibiotics did the trick & he was ready to go home. i don't know the nurse he had the last day, but you were awesome, thank you!! once i got him back home to aunt peggy, i joined the crew at rocky & jane's.

the kids were having fun playing in the sandbox.
all the older folks recognized gracie's dress as a pillowcase they once owned. kinda funny.


beevis, i mean ben, didn't like his hair getting wet too much.


the grandpas were taking it easy, enjoying the festivities in the rocking chairs.


the fireworks were a bit too loud for beano.

third of july fun

friday night some of our friends had a cookout & all the little munchkins got to get together & play.

miss embry makes the funniest faces. ben loves her & i think she likes him a bit too!

i think he is going to be a little heartbreaker. my oh my.






gracie being a good little girl & getting drinks for everyone (don't worry, it was just water!)

the men folk hanging out on the swing.


getting ready for music time!!

i used to be so good at taking self-portraits. not so much anymore!


sheryl & my little heartbreaker, brody.




play us a song, you're the guitar man.

it was so great hanging out with you guys. we really love & miss you all! thanks for having us brandon & beth!

you say tomato, gracie says apple

"apples" (tomatoes) are one of her favorite things to eat.

the "apples" from papaw's garden are especially delicious. i sliced up one tomato & she ate it up all by herself. i don't know why we bother with coloring books, as her favorite canvas of late has been herself. she is quite a work of art.

miss kristen, you would be proud to know that today the kids pulled up one of the carrots you planted! they wanted to pull more, but i told them we had to let them get a bit bigger...